Supporting device for use in darning



E. L.- CORNELL.

SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR USE IN DARNLNG.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1921.

1,414,1 2, I Patented Apnzs, 1922.

2 cou barrenstares ioi'tin stockin 's and other articles ofcloth- V C bing during the processof darning holes certain. requirements tofen'ablethem to be used-with sucaess; in the first place, the de-.. vice mustsupport the part of the fabric which is ,to be repairedv by darning,and. the material of which has more or .less *iasticity in such mannerthatthe fabric is not permitted to stretch or deform immediately aroundthe hole or damaged part, so that the repairs can be effected withoutalteration of shape of the article or garment; secondly, the supportingsurface for the part under repair should be such that for a shortdistalrie, at any rate, beneath the under surface of the fabric, thesupporting surface should be permeable to the needle, permitting it topass easily beneath the under sur-' face of the fabric during thedarning operation and without catching the darning thread which theneedle carries; finally the fabric must be firmly supported, and thesupporting appliance must not be expensive in con struction andmechanical clamping devices are objectionable in that they requiremanipulation and increase the cost of manufacture.

Considering a known construction of supporting device composed of asolid mushroom-shaped or convex supporting surface of wood, it will beunderstood that elastic fabric, surh as stockings are composed. of,

7 would be extremely liable to become stretched and dcforme'd when heldover such a device, and would be inclined to'recede from the raisedcentre of the supporting surface and cause the stretching of the hole inthe fabric which is to be repaired, with consequent deformation of thegarment.

To obviate some of these disadvantages it has already been proposed toprovide a con-' vex supporting surface for the fabrlcto be darned, whichsupporting surface has been composed of fibres vertically disposed, and

V textile fabric having a pile has been sug- SUPPORTING DEVICE ms Us InDARNING. 7

Spe'cificationcf Letters Patent; Patented Application-filed March 21,1e21, Serial no. 454,242.

embodying this invention.

tartar wa i is EDWIN LIST CORNELL, or 'WILLESDEN, ENGLAND.-

Apr. 25, 19 22.

gest'e d. il urtherin such known .devi'cesfa holder woodlor othermaterial has been suggested tocarry a cushion composed offlexiblebris'tles or fibre, but such constructionshave certaindisadvantages in use since thef'pile of-the fabric-for the flexiblebristles of the'brush hitherto suggestedfldo not form afoundation?calculated to rigidly'support the fabr c placed uponthem whensuch fabric receives downward pressure, but are the fabric should bemore rigidly upheld V v A I inclined to bend,whereas I have'found that f'7 l\ ow such supporting devices must satisfy;

wliilel'at the same timeit is highly essential j thatthe,supporting'bristles or some equiv- Q aleuts therefor should becapable of deflection to permit of the passage of the needle.

According therefore to the present invention, the holder which may be ofwood or other material has a head over which they article to be repairedis to be placed and a shank by which the device can, be grasped in thehands of the user, and i s formed with a central cylindrical recess inthe head. Within this recess is fitted the base of a structure composedof practically inflexible parallel wires mounted close together andextendingabo'ut vertically, the lower ends of the wires being'mounted ina resilient or flexible foundation; the" upper ends ofthef wires extend,as hitherto in such devices,

slightly above the surrounding wall of the recessinthc head and'theupper ends of the. wires conjointly form a smooth supporting surface forthe fabric, and since thelowef ends of the said wires are mounted in theresilient orflexible foundation, hereinafter termed resilientfoundation, they can "be easily rockedor inclined in relation to suchfoundation and the fabric which they support, to permit of the passageof a needle passing angularly between them without the wires themselvesbeing flexed.

The nature and advantages of this invention will be more clearlyunderstood on reference to the following description of the accompanyingdrawings illustrating examples of its application. b V

Fig. 1 represents 1n elevation a device The numeral 1 indicates'the headof the device, 2 theshank or holder, 3 the recess in the head, 4: thebrush-like arrangement of Wires, which latter are preferably staplespassing through or embedded in the foundation 5, of pliable or resilientmaterial.

The foundation 5 isadhesively secured to the bottom of the recess 3,which bottom is preferably slightly convex, so that the wires in thecentre of the device stand above those around the edges, and the latterWires may also "if desired project slightly above theperipheral rim ofthe head of the'device, and

the upperends of the wire bristles present conjointly a smooth surface.V

The mode of use is as' follows :-The left handof the person using thedevice may be placed inside the stocking or other garment, keeping theworn parts in their normal positions. *The improved darning device canthen be inverted and placed over the hole in; such manner that thebristles of the brush become partly embedded in the'fabric, when thedevice can be held by the fingers of the like is turnedinside out. 7

then performed, the needle and wool passlng left-hand whilst the sleeve,stocking, or the over the points of the brush bristles, which offer noobstruction to their passage. Meanwhile the parts of the garmentsurrounding the hole are held against stretching or distortion, so thatless wool is used for the repair, and a neater result obtained.

The darning is and means for resiliently securing said Wires by theirlower ends/to permit'a free inclinationin'any lateral direction to eachWire.

2. In a supporting device for use in darning, the combination of aresilient foundation and a plurality of practically inflexible wires, sad wires being mounted each by one 611Cl'11'1 said resilient foundation,in spaced parallel relation.

3. In a supporting device for' use indarn-- mg holes in garments, thecombination of a. recessed head, a holder extending therefrom,

arresilient foundation secured in the recess 1n said head, and a largenumber-of practi cally inflexible and normally parallel wires secured insaid foundation .by their inner ends, said wires being capable oflateral movement in any direction to' permit of some of said wiresassuming an inclined po sition in relation to adjacent wires.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set myhand in the presence oftwowitn'esses.

. EDXVI'N LIST CORNELL.

Witnesses:

lVILLIAM A. MARSHALL, THOMAS W. RoGERs.

